Hi, first of all, I want to say that I am 100% not racist. I am a anime and manga lover, and just getting a little help on my first cosplay.

Ok, I'm starting to get ideas about my first cosplay to put together, but I'm a little worried because I'm black. I know there are lots of other black people who cosplay, but I'm not sure if I should cosplay as a black person in anime, or if I should go ahead and cosplay anyone. I just don't want to make a bad cosplay and be totally off. Any help?

Again, I'm not racist at all or anything like that. Just trying to find some help for my first cosplay. By they way, I'm 14 and a boy so you get the idea.

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My to do list:
Learn Airbending from Aang
Flirt with Korra
Meditate with Raven
Hang out with Harley
Go hunting with Katniss
Release mutations on Peeta and Gale...

As long as your cosplay is accurate and good quality, it doesn't matter if your skin color is different. I've seen great cosplays of pale characters done by black people. There is also a thread on seeking cosplayers just for black cosplayers so I hope it helps: http://www.cosplay.com/showthread.ph...ighlight=black ^^

I'm quite the fan of DC and Marvel, and both have some really amazing black characters! It's something to consider if you're into superheroes, there are plenty of positive, really interesting characters.

Depending on how new you are to cosplay, some characters you like might be beyond your skill level, but that happens to everyone. And like what Falclon said, you do have the option of working with characters outside of your ethnicity if need be - sad but true, a lot of popular media that cosplayers work from tend to be a little monocultural sometimes, so it can be limiting. But don't lose sleep over it! There's so much you can do and so much you can learn.

Sorry for sounding like a corny Hallmark card there though. But seriously, go forth! Enjoy yourself!

If you're open to cosplay that's not Anime, there's some good black characters in the Star Wars universe, both movies and video games. And a decent percentage of those are Jedi
Star Wars has a lot of room for original characters too- Jedi, Sith, Mandalorians, etc..There's a lot of character concepts you can use to form your own creations. Don't let your skin color deter you from doing something you love!

If you're open to cosplay that's not Anime, there's some good black characters in the Star Wars universe, both movies and video games. And a decent percentage of those are Jedi
Star Wars has a lot of room for original characters too- Jedi, Sith, Mandalorians, etc..There's a lot of character concepts you can use to form your own creations. Don't let your skin color deter you from doing something you love!

I'm a black cosplayer too. I started when I was 14 and was a little nervous at first as well. But now I just don't care, if I wanna cosplay a character I do it! Its all about having fun and doing your best.

I've seen tons of black cosplayers cosplaying characters that aren't black, and frankly, sometimes they look better than someone of perhaps the right ethnicity for the character. I personally don't think it matters -- as long as your costume is good, I really wouldn't worry about it.

I think all of us face this problem when we first start. There is also the issue of body type. You'll get over it...Pick a character you like, a costume you think you can make (ie, buy, make from scratch, or beg family and friends to help you with), and something you will be comfortable with. The only real problem I've seen with cosplaying, other then the options, are the individual cosplayer's religious beliefs.

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Women and cats will do as they please. Men and dogs had better get used to it.
Robert Heinlein

I'm also black and I've been worrying about the same thing. lol I know it shouldn't be because it's just cosplay, but I've known some people who take it too seriously and point out every flaw in a person's costume. Even skin color.

But really if you want to cosplay, then cosplay. Everyone has a right to.

Yup, the only real rule of cosplay is to have fun. My skintone is darker compared to most of the characters I cosplay(in fact I've only cosplayed ONE character with the same skintone as me) but that doesn't stop me from cosplaying whoever I want. I really hate it when people get too technical over skintone and such. That is not something that people have control over.